


?cm Away From You

by AcceleOrder



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: (eventual) kaneki/ayato, M/M, rating may change!!, since it's a fic about distance after all lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-21 16:31:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3699242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcceleOrder/pseuds/AcceleOrder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How long before the distance between two strangers under a roof reduces to 0cm?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> For this fic I wanted to try a different writing style. The length for each chapter may differ greatly since I'm just trying out this writing style (but I hope they'll stabilize as I write). There will be 3 'parts' to each chapter separated by the hr line code;
> 
> I'll begin each chapter with a quote which is basically equivalent to the theme of the chapter and following that,  
> there'll be something like a "prologue" where I'll write two or three short paragraphs on Kaneki and Ayato's relationship prior to the chapter,  
> then the main story.
> 
> Rather than me trying to explain poorly, please give the fic a shot!

**5 0 c m**

{  _Everything seems simpler from a distance._ } --  Gail Tsukiyama

* * *

 The Aogiri Tree has fallen. Ayato would be lying if he said he hadn’t expected the day to come one day or another. 

But it  _is_  true that he hadn’t expected Ken to invite him to live together. That the one who he thinks nothing of, the one who obviously thinks nothing of him as well, would be sitting on the same couch as he does, using the same bath he does, and most surprisingly of all -- sleeping in the same room.

Even so, the closest the two’s ever come to each other had been 1m then.

* * *

 They settle for a 1LDK apartment. Ken barely passes as a working adult, and Ayato is still a freshman in college. They’re lucky; they managed to come across a seller who was in debt and was willing to offer them a slightly lower-than-market price.

They decide to move in the moment they got their hands on the key to the apartment. It’s an easy task, seeing as the seller left everything in the apartment intact, including utensils, a couch, even a TV.

Food is another problem entirely.

Ayato arrives first with a small bag carrying but spare clothes slung over his shoulder. He has no choice but to sit outside the apartment - Ken is likely still duplicating a spare key for him.

As he plays with his nails, Ayato ponders. Why  _him_? Did Ken pity him? Did he just feel responsible as he’s older? Or is it because he’s Touka’s little brother? Or --

“Ah, Ayato. Sorry, did you wait long?”

Ayato stands up. “No, not particularly.” In sweater and jeans, along with a cap and sneakers, and he looks just like a human.  _Well, he_ is  _half, after all_. All ghouls are the same -- without their kagune and red eyes, they look just like humans. Still, the Ken now is much different than the Ken Ayato is used to. Rather than cold eyes with a tint of murderous intent hidden in his pupils, he has an easy-going smile plastered on his face.

Ken tosses him what can only be the spare key. “That’s yours. Well, looking forward to living with you, Ayato.” He then proceeds to unlock the door to a new home. A new life. Will things be so easy? They’re wanted ghouls, after all. At the moment, however, that isn’t what Ayato’s worried about.

It’s that Ken maintained a respectable 50cm distance away from him.

 


	2. Old Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayato and Ken finds an injured bird. Just like old times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aurghhh finally, chapter 2!! School's just started for me and I'm pretty sure I'll be much less active now. Sorry if the chapter feels kind of gap-ish; I wrote it over a few weeks. I'll proofread it some day ..................

**4 0 c m**

{  _Trust is the first step to love._ } -- Munshi Premchand

* * *

 

At some point, without their realisation, night has fallen. The definition of “night” did not bother either of them; that’s the time they are able to act. In fact, it is the  _only_  time ghouls can if they want to stay safe. A human’s night was a ghoul’s day.

Their day was only beginning.

* * *

 

Ayato finishes with his unpacking first. As he throws the bag which carried his stuff into the corner of the room, he begins to make his way to the balcony. Of course, the troublesome guy just has to stop him.

“Where are you going?”

“...For a walk.”

Ken raises an eyebrow. “At midnight?”

“We may be living together now, Kaneki, but you have no right to question my personal life.” Ken’s eyes narrows at the statement, but says no more. It’s Ayato’s win, and he opens the balcony window. He’s hungry as fuck. It didn’t matter that “walking the front door” was too dangerous, he’d crawl a tunnel -- anything -- to get flesh now.

_Chirp._

“....?”

_Chirp chirp._

Ayato looks down. A fiscal, injured. He tsks as a memory flows into his mind. A memory from long ago. He lowers into a crouch, and picks the bird up with gentleness he thought he’d lost, completely forgetting about his hunger.

“What’s wrong, Ayato?” Ken asks as he finishes folding his final stack of clothes and walks over to the boy. He sees what he held, and Ken’s eyes widen. “Ah.” Memories of Ken’s own return, and his eyes soften. His gaze goes from the sparrow to Ayato’s eyes, which are carefully blank, awaiting his decision.

Ken tries for a smile. “How lucky that we find a pet on the first day we move in, huh? Let’s build it a temporary nest and go look for a cage later, yeah?”  Muscles Ayato didn’t know tensed relaxes, and he nods. “’Kay.” The quite chubby fiscal chirps as though in approval, and Ayato’s heart lightens up at the sound. The tiny thing wasn’t afraid of him.

* * *

 

“...” Without a word, Ayato shoves a cage in Ken’s face, shocking him. Ken studies it, calculating things like space and comfort in his mind. “No,” he finally shakes his head. Ayato gives a look tch. “It’s the best they have,” he mutters.

“Even if I wanted to, we can’t afford it. Anyways, this one is too dangerous...” He theories with Ayato his calculations even though the boy was clearly not interested.

“How the fuck do you even know so much?”

“I read about it,” Ken answers as he closely analyses each cage, so serious, as though he was choosing a wedding ring. “Touka found one outside  _our_ oldbalcony once. She seemed really scared of it, so I had to...” Ah. Ken stops. Guess he shouldn’t had... He turns to see a scowl on Ayato’s face. Yup.  Bad choice.

Ken was looking so hard and so long, he still hadn’t made up his choice when an employee notified them that they were closing soon. Finally, they decided on one.

They walk towards home in silence. It’s the first time they’re walking side-by-side without Doves at their tails. Heck, screw that. It’s the first time they’re walking side-by-side without being on  _each other’s_ tails. For the first time, Ken begins to doubt his choice about asking Ayato to live with him.

Yet, surprisingly enough, Ayato was the one to break to ice.

“What happened to it?”

“Huh?”

“The bird.”

 _The bird? ..._ Oh, right. “I don’t know. It was in Anteiku when I left. It may be with Yomo-san now, or freed now that its injuries have healed. Who knows?”

More silence. Damn, this sucks. Luckily, they’ve reached home.

“So that idiot Aneki’s afraid of birds now?” Ken was already surprised that Ayato stroke up a conversation, but talking about Touka willingly? That’s a whole new level of surprise. “Yeah. You know why?” Ken makes an effort to continue the conversation as he unlocks the door, not wanting to let this rare chance slip by.

“Hmm.” Not answering the question, Ayato stalks towards the fiscal now sleeping peacefully on a bed made by playing cotton in a bowl. 

Be it out of caution or simply coincidental, the fiscal awoke. The answer becomes clear as it limps onto Ayato’s open palm. The expression on the boy’s face can only be described as...  _soft_. And throughout the time Ken’s known him, Ayato’s expression has never been anything close to soft. If anything else, he’s always scowling.

Maybe the boy had a soft spot for animals.

Ayato went to work on the cage and Ken attended to the poor thing’s injuries. Bringing it to a vet would have definitely been safer, but at this timing? Only one hell of a vet would be available now. It’s obedience sped up the process, and he can’t help but wonder whether it’s actually someone’s pet.

“...After our dad died,” Ayato suddenly speaks and Ken realises with a start that he is answering his previous question. “The CCG bastards wanted to get rid of us too before we take root, or shit like that. Before that, we were caring for one like this --” he nods in the fiscal’s direction -- “and tried to take it with us. But when she opened the cage, it poked her in the eye and flew off.”

Ayato shrugs. “I guess that’s why.” He returns to fiddling with the tiny home for the fiscal absent-mindedly. When he didn’t speak again, Ken understood that their conversation was over. They work in comfortable silence, something they never shared while in Aogiri.

\--Someone’s stomach growls. Ayato actually blushed. “Oh yeah, I was hungry,” he mutters as he rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. Ken chuckles. “I’m just done with bandaging it’s wing; it’s sleeping peacefully now. To be safe, let’s bring it to a vet tomorrow.” He then gets up with a ‘oof’ and offers a genuine smile.

“Coffee maybe?”


End file.
